Page 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

GIA

Sweat sticks my hair to my skin as I jolt upright in bed, heart racing.

I reach out and feel the other side of the bed, searching for Royce but he isn’t there. My heart seizes in my chest as I throw back the blankets. I swing out of bed, feet hitting the cold wood floors of our new penthouse.

Taking a deep breath, I open the drawer beside the bed, pulling out my gun and loading it.

Everything is fine. It was just a bad dream.

I’m probably overreacting.

And even though I know that’s the truth, I’ve spent the last week with the hairs on the back of my neck standing straight up like I’m being watched.

I need to see that Bianca is safe in her crib and that there’s not a monster lurking in the dark, waiting for their chance to ruin my life.

I need the reminder that Noah is dead.

When I leave the bedroom, I’m careful, testing the floorboards to make sure they don’t squeak while I make my way down the hall and around the corner to Bianca’s bedroom.

My hands shake as I reach for the knob and open the door.

Royce looks up at me from the rocking chair, one eyebrow arched as his gaze drops to the gun in my hands. He shifts Bianca in his arms, smiling down at her as she makes a little sleepy noise before her eyelashes flutter.

“Everything okay?” he asks, his voice soft but firm. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I tuck the gun into the back of my waistband. “Bad nightmares, and then I woke up and you were gone. I thought something might’ve happened.”

“If there was something going on, I would wake you.” He continues rocking in the chair, humming to Bianca as she tucks one thumb into her mouth.

“I know.” I rake a hand through my hair, counting my exhales until my heart rate is back to normal. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to get the thought of Noah’s death out of my head.”

Royce stands and nods to the rocking chair. “Sit.”

After a moment of hesitation, I take the gun out and set it on the table in the hallway before going over to the rocking chair and taking a seat.

He sets Bianca in my lap. “This is all you need to worry about right now. Just hold her and feel that she’s happy and healthy.”

Tears sting at the corners of my eyes as I wrap my arms around Bianca, holding her close to my chest and watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. Even as we get closer to her second birthday, I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to how perfect she is.

And it all could have been taken away from me.

A couple weeks isn’t enough to feel like everything is going to go back to normal. I still can’t sleep at night, and I worry about leaving her alone with anyone other than Royce or Skyla.

Then there’s my mother, who blames me for Noah’s death.

I can’t blame her for that one, though. Although I wasn’t the one to pull the trigger, I’m the reason he died.

Royce crouches down at my side, his hand on my knee. “I know this is hard for you, but we’re going to be just fine. All of us.”

“I still hate when you say that everything is going to be fine.”

“It’s the truth, though. Bianca is happy, we have a new house, and we have the rest of our lives to look forward to.”

“I know.” I hate the sharp pain that rises in my chest like a warning. “I know all of that, and yet I can’t shake the feeling that Noah is going to resurrect himself and come back to haunt us all.”

“He’s dead.” Royce squeezes my knee lightly. “He’s never going to be able to come for you again. Bianca will never have to know that her uncle was going to take her from us.”

“It’s not as easy as putting it all behind us,” I say, whispering as Bianca starts to snore.

Carefully, I stand, trying to avoid jostling her as I walk over to the crib and put her down inside. She keeps her thumb in her mouth as she rolls to the side, reaching for the baby blanket Ellie gave her as a housewarming gift last week.

Royce loops his arm around my waist, leading me out of the bedroom. He grabs the gun on our way by. “We’re going to enjoy the rest of the night.”

I glance at the clock on his nightstand while he puts the gun away. “It’s two in the morning. We should be sleeping.”

He gives me a flat look as he puts his hands on my hips, pulling me to him. “Are you really going to be able to go back to sleep?”

“No.”

Chuckling, he kisses me soft and slow. “What can I do to help?”

“Give me a distraction.”

His fingers slip beneath the hem of my shirt, skimming over my stomach. The fading bruises are still tender at his touch, but he’s careful, his hands featherlight as they climb higher.

Heat pools between my legs as he cups my breasts. His thumbs brush over my nipples until they’re in stiff peaks, pressing against the thin material while I ache for more of him.

Royce smirks, trailing kisses along my jaw. “Is there something else you want, or is this good enough?”

“More.” I reach for the joggers he wears, shoving them over his hips and to the floor as his cock swells.

I rake my nails up his bare chest, enjoying the shivers that run through his body at my touch. His eyes burn with lust while he inches my shirt up and over my head before reaching for my pants.

The second I’m naked, he gets to his knees in front of me, his hands cupping my ass, massaging the flesh as his tongue slides through my slick folds. He laps at my pussy like it’s his favorite flavor of ice cream.

When his tongue swirls around my clit and he sucks on it hard, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.

My head tilts back, hips rocking as I lift one leg over his shoulder and lean back against one of the bedposts. Royce presses two fingers into my pussy, massaging my inner walls, while his tongue continues to tease my clit.

“Fuck, yes, don’t stop,” I say, breathy as I try to move with him.

His fingers thrust deeper and harder into me, my arousal coating my inner thighs. His tongue presses harder against my clit as I come, his fingers driving faster into me.

Royce moans as I ride his face, coming down from my high. When he gets to his feet, he cups the back of my head, pulling me in for a kiss that leaves me breathless. His mouth slants against mine, teeth and tongue nipping and licking as he backs me toward the bed.

As he lowers us to the bed, he presses his body between my legs. His cock throbs against me, his lips tracing patterns on my jaw as he works his way down to my pulse.

When he sucks on my neck, he slams into me, burying himself to the hilt before he stops moving.

I lock my legs around his waist, heels pressing into his back as I run my nails down his chest. “You’re being a tease.”

“You love it.” He smirks, giving a slow roll of his hips. “Can you feel how wet you are? I bet you love thinking about being taken to the edge of an orgasm and not being allowed to come.”

“Don’t you dare.” I tilt my hips back and forth, trying to get him to move, the lust crashing through my body in waves.

Royce nips at my bottom lip, pulling out just a little before slamming back in. My pussy wraps harder around his throbbing cock as he moans. His head drops to my shoulder as his hips rock faster.

“I love you,” he says, his tone gruff as he grabs my thighs, fingers pressing deep as he lifts my hips higher off the bed.

“I love you too.” My fingers weave through his hair as I pull him closer to me. Our lips slant against each other, the kiss sloppy and desperate.

My pussy pulses as tension begins to build at the base of my spine. His hand leaves my thigh to slip between us, fingers pressing hard against my clit with every thrust of his cock. He drives into me over and over again until it feels like I can’t take any more.

I come as his fingers stop swirling over the little bundle of nerves.

“Good girl.” Royce stiffens, his thrusts slowing as he comes. “You feel so good wrapped around my cock. Keep milking it with your tight little pussy.”

The slow thrusts draw out my orgasm until it feels like all the energy has been sapped from my body.

Even as he pulls out, he kisses his way across one collarbone and then the other before claiming my lips again.

As he falls to the bed beside me, he loops one around my waist, pulling me in tight. I put my head on his chest, listening to the thrumming of his heart. There was a time when I didn’t think I would ever get a moment with him like this again and now here we are, in bed with our child down the hall.

Tears spring to my eyes as I turn my face into his chest. His hand smooths up and down my back, the calluses rough against my skin.

Royce presses his lips to my temple. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on in your head right now?”

“Have you thought about what comes next for us?” I ask, tone wavering a little as I move, shifting my pillows so I can sit comfortably against the headboard.

He leans back with me, arms crossed over his chest. “I’ve thought about it, but I don’t think we need to rush into anything, if that’s what you’re wondering. I was thinking we should take some time to get to know each other better again.”

There’s a small tinge of disappointment that settles in my chest. I don’t know what I was hoping for, but I thought it would be something more than that.

I pull my knees up and loop my arms around my shins. “And yet here we are, moving into a penthouse together.”

He stifles a smile. “I didn’t say I planned on taking things slow, just that we should get to know each other again. Whatever that looks like for us. I’ve always been sure about you, even when I was pissed at you for hiding who you were from me.”

“Then why didn’t you ever come back?”

“Because I’m an idiot. And I would’ve come back for you at some point. I was getting tired of wallowing in self-pity and thinking about how I lost the best person in my life.”

“I always knew you were a romantic at heart.”

He scoffs, his eyes rolling. “Please. I don’t think that after what we just did, you can call me romantic.”

“Maybe you’re right about that.” Smirking, I lean into his shoulder and kiss his neck. “So, this getting to know each other thing.”

“Mainly revolves around getting to know every inch of your body again,” he says as he rolls over, pulling me down the mattress and hovering above me. “And after that, we have the rest of our lives to learn everything else about each other.”

“You mean that?”

“As soon as I find the ring I think you’re going to love, it’s going on your finger and never coming off.”

And just like that, I fall deeper in love with him.